2 out of 4 stars
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As its name suggests, Career Tips and Hints – for a great CV by Karen Paxton provides a detailed guide to writing a Curriculum Vitae. Paxton’s qualifications for promising such a claim come from a successful career in public affairs culminating in heading a specialist recruitment company. With this job, she has surely seen enough CVs and guided enough people through the job search process to qualify her as an expert.
In her book she explains the function of the CV, its various parts, and ways to grab the employer’s interest from the very beginning. She provides many examples and explanations to teach the reader how to make a CV shine among the masses.
The book begins by exploring the problematic way that most job seekers write their CVs then continues to explain the employer’s point of view. With that foundation Paxton gives an example of the average CV, the lackluster bulk that employers receive and overlook. Then she gives a thorough explanation of the structure and “secret formula” for a great CV. The book is neatly closed with a cleaned up CV template and the answers to important frequently asked questions.
Though it is not clearly stated until end, this is not a beginner’s guide. This book is targeted for mid to senior level job seekers who already have an established career. Maybe I should have been able to infer that, as most lower level job applications call for a resume rather than a CV. Still, this important information should have been clearly presented in the book’s description. Nowhere in the book does she even explain what a CV is or how it is different from a resume.
With the broad title and description, I was expecting to read advice that could reach anyone. However, Paxton’s message only really reaches those who have kept records and data to prove their proficiency in previously held jobs. She only addresses those who did not or could not maintain such records with a tough luck, you should have been keeping records sentiment. Such readers probably won’t find this book helpful in updating their CVs. Of course I understand the emphasis that Paxton puts on this kind of record keeping, but it seems her book should be more clearly marketed toward her target audience. I was expecting a book that could help anyone better themselves and I was disappointed. Additionally, this book has several unsavory grammatical and flow quirks. They may not all be technically incorrect, but they do lessen the readers experience.
However, as someone who is just beginning their career, I found many of her insights very helpful. I will surely keep them in mind as I build my career and my CV in the future. I give this book 2 out of 4 stars – though it offers valuable advice, it is misleading and contains the aforementioned flaws. I would still recommend this book, just not to everyone. Nevertheless, I am grateful for Paxton’s advice and insight and I will likely return to this book when I write my first CV.
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